Kensington Swan's view on aspects of the construction industry

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Monthly Archives: January 2016

Sam McCutcheon is a solicitor within the construction law team at Kensington Swan. Sam isn’t just up to speed with construction law but is also quick on the running tracks. Over the weekend, Sam competed in the Ultra Easy Sky Ultra 100km in Wanaka. Sam not only completed the race with an incredible time of…

The Canterbury rebuild has been providing good initiatives to stimulate the employment of women in the construction industry. The New Zealand Construction News has published an interesting article which looks at the case study published by the Ministry for Women which looks as leveraging this ‘thinking differently, doing differently’ mentality to stimulate the employment of…

In New Zealand, most people have an entrenched perception that construction workers are male. Because of this preconception, seeing a female construction worker, especially in a particularly labour intensive job will often come as a surprise. Contrastingly; in Myanmar female workers building roads and performing hard labour is a common sight because women make up…

In the evolving world of ‘smart’ technology, it comes as no surprise that ‘smart’ windows are now in the works. Fear not, the technology behind University College London and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s prototype will not provide yet another surface for Donald Trump’s freedom kids to haunt you on. Instead, the window…

In New Zealand, most construction disputes are resolved through adjudication under the Construction Contract Act 2002. Looking more broadly, legal disputes in New Zealand can be resolved through: litigation in court, which is becoming increasing expensive and protracted; or alternative dispute resolution (‘ADR’) including negotiation; expert determination; mediation; adjudication; and arbitration. Overseas, parties to disputes can also choose between…

A new push for environmentally sustainable products and services within the New Zealand building and construction industry can be expected following the appointment of Rohan Bush to the Environmental Choice New Zealand (‘ECNZ’) board. In an increasingly eco-friendly-conscious market, the ECNZ is a government owned and endorsed, but independently operated programme which assesses and certifies the design,…

We have covered Wellington’s high profile fence stoush, dubbed ‘Fencegate’ by the media, in several blogs. In a nutshell, Peter and Sylvia Aitchison’s harbour views were destroyed when their neighbour, David Walmsley, built a fence blocking their view. The Aitchisons sought the assistance of the Environment Court, to demonstrate that the fence should never have…

As most people celebrated on New Year’s Eve on 31 December 2015 those around the luxury Dubai hotel The Address watched as a fire engulfed the façade of the 63 story hotel. The extent of the fire exceeded the capacity of regular sprinkler systems and the building’s sprinkler system was exhausted after 15 minutes. Despite…

One of 2015’s most high profile neighbours-at-war disputes has resurfaced. Last year we blogged about the view obstructing structure that was built on a Roseneath property. The structure was allowed under the District Plan on the basis that it was a fort rather than a fence, an assertion that is disputed by Peter Aitchison and…

The pyramids in Egypt represent some of the most ambitious engineering and construction achievements in the history of mankind. After enjoying thousands of years as the subject of much fascination and mystery, the pyramids may soon find their secrets exposed. New insights into the construction of the structures may be revealed through the analysis of…